Monday, November 28, 2011

NYC In A New York Minute Scenestealer Grey can gladly steal any scene

You know when something's so bad, it's good? Think stinky tofu (it's not called stinky for nothing but I heard it tastes awesome) or Rick Astley (I apologize in advance to any Rick Astley fans who might be reading this). I suppose the same can be said for Zoolander, the satirical comedy that poked fun at the fashion industry and the models that everyone wanted to be like. I particularly thought Ben Stiller as the slow but well meaning male model, Derek Zoolander, was a riot. And one of his "signature looks" is what immediately came to mind when I saw today's polish:

Blue Steel: "I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is." (Image Credits)

Steel blue shimmery awesomeness.

The Quick Take

Brand/Name: NYC In A New York Minute Scenestealer GreyColor: blue based mid tone greyFinish: ShimmerPrice: $1.99 CDN for 11.7mLSeen at: WalMart, RexallNote(s): Scenestealer Grey is part of the Fall 2011 collection that NYC released a few months ago. It's a limited edition color so it might be hard to find.

The Fun Facts

Token bottle shot.

Label at the back.

Nice, pliable brush with a plastic handle.

Blue steel, yeah?

I would've thought this would be a straightforward color to describe: a blue based mid tone grey shimmer. Apparently, it's not as simple as that. In some lights, this shows more blue in it making it a blue grey that reminds me of Russian Blue cats (incidentally, the only breed of cat I might consider getting as a pet if I ever do get a cat as I'm more of a dog person). In some lights, it shows more grey with just a teeny tiny hint of blue. Fascinating really, considering I'd never have thought it would be such a complex color.
***All nail swatches were done with Nail Tek II Foundation Base Coat and three coats of NYC In A New York Minute in Scenestealer Grey unless stated.

Natural light/No top coat/No flash

See how it looks more bluish here?

Natural light/No top coat/Flash

And here it looks a bit more grey with a touch of blue to it.

Sunlight/No top coat/No flash

Russian Blue might've been a better name for this.

I've previously raved about the NYC In a New York minute polish brush here, so I'll spare you the redundancy. I do have to say that it really is a pretty awesome brush when you think about how budget friendly this polish is (I'm looking at you, Wet N Wild Fast Dry polish brushes with your terrible bristles). Consistency leans more to the watery side of the spectrum, but not so much that it's unwieldy. In fact, I'd say it helps with the leveling of the formula as it dries so you get nice, even coats and really makes it easy to paint the edges without flooding the cuticles. It does go on sheer though and I find it works best with 3 thin coats instead of 2 thick ones. As this is touted as a fast dry polish, it does live up to its name and dry time is within 1-2 minutes after application, drying to a pretty high gloss finish. Note that the thicker the coats you use, the longer dry time gets.

Natural light/Top coat/No flash

Notice how top coat doesn't really up the shine Scenestealer Grey already had to begin with.

Natural light/Top coat/Flash

Hammie says: I'm thinking of getting my fur done in this shade. What do you think?

Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash

Hammie says: Oooooh. Puuurrrrty.

In this instance, top coat is more for protection and sealing in the polish than for adding shine. Scenestealer Grey dried fairly glossy on its own.

The Lowdown

If you want to get your hands on this color and can't find it, I do have some options for you. The closest I can find that mimics this shade is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gunmetal which is part of the core collection and should be easy to find pretty much anywhere. I originally thought that it reminded me a bit of Zoya Freja but Scenestealer Grey has more blue in it and is a few shades lighter. Its base color would probably fall somewhere in between Zoya Marina and Zoya Tao from the Fall Mirrors Collection 2011. It could even be a shimmer version of Nars Full Metal Jacket as they look to have a very similar base color, even though Full Metal Jacket is a metallic. Value for price, I'd say is pretty amazing. New York Color keeps on impressing! I've found myself reaching for their polishes when I need a quick change. Easy application and fast drying easily makes these go to material. The steal of a price and vast availability of the polishes make these a great starter polish for any nail polish newbie on a budget.

Scenestealer Grey definitely stole the scene! Hammie even wants to dye his fur in this color, thinking he can be a new breed of Russian Blue hamster. Right. Well, I may or may not talk him out of it as it IS still his fur. Now, he wasn't too pleased about the limited availability despite the various options so he had to dock a point for that. He scores this polish:

9 Hammie Points!

Did you enjoy the movie, Zoolander? What's your take on this blue steel? Do you own a Russian blue?

This looks so pretty on you! You can really pull of these grey colours and make them chic! That first photo made me laugh... so funny!And again... age is getting at me... I swear I commented already... or did I tweet... I tell you memory DROPS when you hit 30! :,(

It really is good value for price. :) I actually like this better than Gunmetal, nevermind that the differences are almost negligible. Maybe because I can get 2 of the NYC one for every 1 of Sally Hansen's. ;)